AntiGravity Beds and Giant Man Eating Squids
by Evaryn
Summary: p/t Shore leave.... the crew needs a break, a resort situated on a monster infested ocean, what could possibly go wrong??? Complete story!


Not mine. I wrote it, but the characters don't belong to me. 

A happy shore leave???

For all intents and purposes, it looked perfect. The Karulian people were humanoids, and for a so called cultural exchange they offered the Voyager crew the use of their most exclusive resorts. It even felt earth like, the gravity relatively the same, the temperature in this climate relatively warm and comfortable. Perfect. But wasn't that how all shore leaves tend to start, perfect? What could give the crew a better moral boost then a sandy beach and beautiful ocean, despite the warnings about going out farther then the safe net due to several ocean dwelling creatures. The Karulian's assured them there would be no problems, no of coarse there wouldn't be any problems. 

She reclined in a lawn chair on the sand, enjoying the feeling of a real sun warming her skin. Tom stood back and watched, afraid to break the tranquility of the moment...

"I know you're there. What do you want?" Her tone dripped with venom.

Ok, so much for the tranquility. "How can you possibly be stressed down here?" He stepped forwards and plopped down on the sand beside her. 

B'Elanna looked down at him and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "If you think I'm about to forgive you anytime soon..."

"I know you're mad I talked to the Captain about making you go on shore leave. But how can you prefer being stuck in engineering playing with your warp core compared to laying in the warmth of a real sun on a real beach?" He stated matter-of-factly and stood up. He headed towards the water. "How about a swim?"

"You'll get eaten by the sharks." 

"They aren't sharks; more like giant man eating squids." B'Elanna wondered if she should be worried about the gleam in his eyes at the mention of the old movie monster. "Anyhow," Tom continued, looking out at the water. "They aren't on this side of the safety net." He stepped into the water, suppressing a shiver as the cold water came in contact with his skin. Ok, so he didn't anticipate it being this cold, but he couldn't back out now. He took another step in. "Are you going to join me?"

She laughed, finally. "No thanks, but I'm sure you'll make a wonderful snack."

Now he stood up to his knees, and his feet were feeling numb from the cold. He walked back onto the sand and sat back down beside B'Elanna's chair. "You can't be mad at me forever." He pouted. 

"Maybe not forever. You're feet are blue." 

Tom looked down. They weren't blue. "Funny."

"Megan Delany already tried the water. Cold, huh?"

"Not really. You should try it." He looked back out to the horizon. 

B'Elanna sighed. Being mad at Tom just wasn't as much fun as some other activates she could think of doing with him. "A cruise if being offered tomorrow morning. Interested?" 

"Will you be on it?"

"Yes."

"Then yes. Where to?" 

She shrugged. "A historical tour of the Karulian society." She monitored his expression closely, but he still seemed interested. 

"Sounds fine." He looked back at the hotel. "Have you seen our room yet?"

"No, what's it like?"

"It's a theme suit, something called the Jikarin Moon. The bed looks interesting." 

She seemed to think about it for a minute. "Well, I guess I should see it. It's probably a good idea to get some rest before the cruise tomorrow in any case." She still had images of the man eating giant squid in her head. Probably a very good idea to be well rested for the cruise tomorrow.

"Probably." Tom agreed. He held out his hand to help her up, and miracles of miracles, she accepted. 

"So just how interesting is this bed?" 

......

Morning came quickly, and as for getting rest... 

"Maybe we should skip the cruise and just stay in bed all day?" Tom suggested. B'Elanna watched him shifting slightly, and made a mental note on finding out the specifics behind this 'bed'. It seemed to be made of an antigravity force field, creating the visual and sensual sensation of floating on a stream of air. 

"I told the Captain we'd be there. Do you really feel like creating an excuse for her later?"

"No. Not really." Tom rolled off the force field and landed on the floor. B'Elanna stared at him a moment, but he seemed to have done it purposely so she didn't worry. Too much. 

"We forgot the dermal regenerator." She stated blandly; assessing his bare chest. 

Tom looked down at the bite mark just under his left nipple. "I'll hide mine if you hide yours?" 

She blushed, a very rare incident that Tom savoured each time it happened. "You should have stopped me." 

He shrugged and hopped onto his feet. "I didn't want you to stop. Don't worry, I'll keep my shirt on." 

She threw him a baggy grey shirt from his travel bag. She dug out another one for herself. "What's this?" She asked, holding a white t-shirt with a big red diamond shaped S in the middle outlined with yellow. 

"A twentieth century superhero." The explanation came out somewhat muffled because of the T-shirt half over his head. 

"A what?"

Tom finished dressing and grinned at her. She held the shirt at arms length as though it might bite. "A comic book, a story made with pictures about a alien with special powers who went around helping people." 

He watched her slowly pull the t-shirt on. "Where do you find these things?" 

"I can't give up all my secrets." He chose some shorts and then jumped backwards back onto the bed. "Do you think you'd be able to make us one of these?" 

.....

Epilogue

Tom and B'Elanna arrived in time for the cruise. B'Elanna spent the entire ship dreading a monster attack that never happened while Tom spent the entire time hoping it would. Their resorts might be nice, but the history of the Karulian culture left much to be desired. As for the rest of shore leave, Tom and B'Elanna spent their time exploring the engineering aspects of their very interesting bed. Unfortunately neither of them learned enough scientific data about the devise before having to leave. 

Please post a review! Did it suck? Was it good? Should I put my keyboard away in a very dark corner and never write anything ever again? 


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